First 2015 Entry on the Books!

The first entry for this year's race came in this week... It's from none other than CYC's Wy'East, skippered by Frank Colistro of Portland, OR. This boat's a Cascade 36 with a PHRF rating of 153. Wy'East holds the record for the most years completing the Oregon Offshore, 20 years so far!


We're told there are at least a couple other entries in the mail, so check back soon for updates.

2015 Race Packet is Ready for Download!

Hello racers!

We have posted the Race Packet (with Notice of Race, Entry Form, Skipper Waiver, and Crew List) and Safety Equipment Requirements for the 2015 Oregon Offshore!

Send your entries in early to encourage participation. And email us at oregonoffshore@cycportland.org if you have any questions.

Safety at Sea - Registration is open for the Portland seminar!

Happy New Year!

Registration is now open for the March 14 Safety at Sea seminar in Portland. Oregon Offshore racers may register now, and the registration will open for the rest of the sailing community next week. Spaces may be limited, so don't delay your registration!

The class is for a one-day Safety at Sea seminar, which will qualify you for the Oregon Offshore's requirement (two crew per boat, or 30% of each boat's crew, whichever is greater). The venue will be in Portland, but exact location and time for the seminar should be announced in a couple weeks.

NOTE: Vic Maui, Pacific Cup, Van Isle 360 or other international offshore races will require a two-day course.

To register for the seminar in Portland on March, click here.

If you encounter any problems, please contact Nicole Sirois.

Additionally, the West Vancouver Yacht Club has added one more seminar, which is offered by Sail Canada and is an ISAF-approved two-day course. The dates will be Sunday and Monday, March 1-2, and you can find more information here. Advance registration for this class is available for 2015 Oregon Offshore and Van Isle 360 racers here. The other seminars offered by Sail Canada at WVYC are now full, so register early for this last two-day seminar before the Oregon Offshore in May 2015! General registration will open January 26.

We hope you can find a class that works for you!

One more weekend (so far!) for BC Sailing Safety at Sea

BC Sailing has scheduled another Safety at Sea class for early 2015 at the West Vancouver Yacht Club. The dates are Sunday-Monday January 11-12.

This course is Sail Canada – ISAF Approved. As a preference to events that have Safety at Sea training requirements, advance registration is available now to crews of boats that are sailing in the 2015 Oregon Offshore and 2015 Van Isle 360 races.

The January 9-10 class is now full.

The links for advance registration for the others are:
January 11-12 class
February 27-28 class

General registration for these classes will open to the public on Wednesday December 17. Additional class dates may be added, if demand warrants.

Thankful for Safety at Sea Class Opportunities

Happy Thanksgiving!

We are thankful for Safety at Sea class options! Specifically, we just learned that BC Sailing has scheduled two Sail Canada / ISAF Approved Safety at Sea classes for early 2015 at the West Vancouver Yacht Club.

The dates are Friday-Saturday, January 9-10, 2015 and Friday-Saturday, February 27-28, 2015. These classes are two days each, and are Sail Canada / ISAF Approved. As a preference to events that have Safety at Sea training requirements, advance registration is available now to crews of boats that are sailing in the 2015 Oregon Offshore and 2015 Van Isle 360 races.

Click one of the following links for advance registration:
January 9-10 class
February 27-28 class

General registration for these classes will open to the public on Wednesday, December 17, 2014. Additional classes may be available if demand warrants.

Thanks so much to BC Sailing for the information and the priority registration!

More good news: Safety at Sea is coming to Portland in March!

Nicole Sirois and Mark McCuddy have headed up a group of volunteers from the Oregon Corinthian Sailing Association and CYC Portland to bring a one-day Safety at Sea seminar to Portland. Bob Schoonmaker of Seattle will be hosting the event on March 14, 2015 at Portland Yacht Club, and Bruce Brown from US Sailing will moderate. We're told he puts on fantastic seminars!

This class will comply with the 2015 requirement for the Oregon Offshore International Yacht Race. Please note that if you are seeking certification for Pacific Cup, Vic-Maui or other international races, a two-day seminar will likely be required, and this class would not meet that requirement. 

We will keep you informed of further updates and sign-up information. Feel free to pass this information on; everyone is welcome, and this will be a very valuable educational experience not only for offshore racers, but also for cruisers and people still anticipating their first time sailing in the ocean. 

It's Official! 2015 dates have been set!

CYC Portland has finally finalized the dates for the 2015 Oregon Offshore! The race will start on Thursday, May 7, 2014, with the start time TBD as usual (based on tides and the safest available Columbia Bar crossing). The finish deadline will be 1000 hours on Sunday, May 10.

The mandatory skippers meeting will take place on May 6 in Astoria, OR, exact location TBD. Stay tuned for more information! We will try to have the race packet, including notice of race and safety equipment requirements, available around the first of the year.

2015 Updates

Thank you all for your feedback regarding next year's race and safety requirements. We have received some requests recently to know what the dates will be for the 2015 race. CYC has not confirmed the dates yet, but plans to post that information on this site in November or December.

As for the Safety at Sea requirement, we have still not finalized the requirement, but it will be similar to PIYA's recommended wording. We have confirmed we will be accepting certificates approved by BC Sailing, Sail Canada, the UK's Royal Yachting Association, and other national or international authorities comparable to US Sailing.

It is our understanding that Portland's OCSA is working to bring a one-day Safety at Sea class to Portland, OR in the spring, but nothing has been confirmed so far. If they are able to pull it together, it should be US Sailing certified and then would be enough to qualify for the Oregon Offshore in 2015. For those of you who would like a certification that you can use for other longer races, like the Vic-Maui or Pacific Cup, you may need a two-day certification, and would likely have to sit for a longer class separately. Something to chew on...

Stay tuned to this site for more updates about the 2015 race. If you would like updates sent to your email address, click on the "Subscribe to" link at the top of the right column.

Safety At Sea Required in 2015!

Hello Oregon Offshore Racers!

It's a few months until next year's race, but with some of the new safety requirements, you'd better get started early. In 2015, we will require at least 2 people or at least 30% of all people on each boat (whichever is greater) to have been certified by a US Sailing sanctioned Safety at Sea event.

It gets worse... The only seminars scheduled on the West Coast before next May are in October 2014 in San Francisco. You'd better get planning if you want to get this taken care of without flying to Maryland next spring.

The Washington coast can be rather inhospitable. We hope folks are able to plan to attend this course early enough that this won't reduce their desire or ability to race, and we are certain this will increase safety and preparedness among those who do.

For a list of seminars available between now and the race, click here.

Two big Pacific Ocean races happening in the next few weeks

The Pac-Cup Singlehanders started racing today, and the rest will start in a few days. Also starting this week is the Vic-Maui! Both races have multiple boats racing who have participated recently in the Oregon Offshore race.

To download the Pac-Cup tracker, go to this site. Two of this year's Offshore participants will be racing Santa Cruz 27s double-handed (Kaos and Blade Runner-this year's PHRF First Overall). We'll also be tracking California Girl and Free Bowl of Soup, and we think you should, too.

You can track Turnagain, Kinetic, Passepartout, and Avalon in the Vic-Maui race here.

Godspeed, friends!

Sail "Bridge to Bridge" the Original Course of the first Oregon Offshore races....Astoria to Newport on August 15th

Just Can't Get Enough?!?
Of racing sailboats offshore in Oregon I mean?
Well, here is your chance to do it again, to the south this time!

WHO: Yaquina Bay Yacht Club in Newport, Oregon
WHAT: The Bridge to Bridge Race
WHEN: August 15 - 17, 2014
WHERE: Astoria to Newport, Oregon (app. 100 nm)
WHY: Here is your chance to sail the original route of the first Oregon Offshore races! Race south from Astoria to Newport Oregon through 100 miles of sunshine, blue skies and the most beautiful coastline on the West Coast. Racers will travel from the mouth of the Columbia to the mouth of the Yaquina in Newport, Oregon. The race is handicapped at just under 100 miles and is usually a starlit overnight race. The elapsed time record is held by Dave French's Olson 30 “Grins” at 10 hours and 45 minutes! This Northwest version of the Ensenada Race is a PIYA Category 1 offshore race. Plan a stay in Newport and explore the fabulous central Oregon coast, or get together with your fellow competitors and race back to Astoria.

J Boat News Highlights Winners in 2014 Oregon Offshore

Here's the link:

http://jboatnews.blogspot.com/2014/05/js-dominate-epic-oregon-offshore-race.html

Another cool video... this one from Panama Red

We've received an awesome new video of the 2014 Oregon Offshore race aboard Panama Red! Check it out:

Oregon Offshore Race - Bag delivery to Sitka Shop Victoria from Truce Designs on Vimeo.

2014 Oregon Offshore T-shirts still available in limited sizes and styles


Oregon Offshore racers and fans: it's not too late to buy a t-shirt to remember this year's epic race.  We have limited quantities in the following styles and sizes:

Silver Long Sleeve Tech ($30)
L, XL

Grey Short Sleeve Tech ($30)
S, M

White Long Sleeve Cotton ($25)
L, XL

Beige Short Sleeve Cotton ($20)
XL, 2XL

White/Grey Ladies' Racerback Tank ($25)
S

The Men's shirts feature the Oregon Offshore logo on the left breast and the 2014 Oregon Offshore graphic on the back.  The ladies' tank features the graphic on the front.

Contact membership@cycportland.org to place an order.

New Video Just In From the J-42 Velocity!

"Velocity is the rate of change of the position of an object, equivalent to a specification of its speed and direction of motion."



Lots of boats came a long way to do this race this year; Tom Keffer brought his J-42 "Velocity" and crew to this year's 38th Annual CYC Oregon Offshore sailing race all the way from Hood River, Oregon.

If you think it was windy on this race, go to Hood River someday, preferably with your kiteboard... Great video Velocity, you certainly lived up to your name.

Make sure to watch this video to the very end, I love the universal sailors' post-race, onboard celebration... classic! Well-deserved, Velocity!



Oregon Offshore Blog from Sailing Anarchy

http://forums.sailinganarchy.com/index.php?showtopic=157171

What did the wind actually look like?

A couple days ago, we posted an advance weather report from the day before this year's race. Well, we've now received some very detailed data from one of our competitors, Steve Smolinske of the Catalina 38 Peregrine, and we're posting for all to see the true wind speeds (red) and the boat speeds (blue) that Peregrine experienced throughout this year's very short race.


Thanks for sharing, Steve!

New Video From 2nd Place PHRF Overall Winner Free Bowl of Soup

This is another great onboard clip from this year's 38th Annual CYC Oregon Offshore sailing race, courtesy of the J/105 Free Bowl of Soup, PHRF Class B Winner and 2nd Overall in PHRF Class this year.
I love how these guys give us a variety of camera angles in this clip, including an underwater view at 1:43 minutes in.

Thanks guys!  It's a little like watching sailing sausage being made, it may not always be pretty but the end results are great! Documented boat speeds on this video exceed 13+ knots at times... The top speed reported by Soup through the water was 16.5; speed over ground 17.4. Nothing like a hot Soup on a cold day!

Here's a quote from Co-captain Doug Schenk about the race: "Good times; well, actually epic times."

Free Bowl of Soup 2014 Oregon Offshore from Shortcake Photography on Vimeo.

The Perfect Storm - 24 Hour Advance Weather Report For 2014 Oregon Offshore

It is being said that the wind conditions were near perfect for this year's race; here's the National Weather Service 24 hour advance weather report for the 2014  38th Annual CYC Oregon Offshore Sailing Race:

Gale Watch

URGENT - MARINE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OR
825 AM PDT WED MAY 7 2014

 PZZ250-255-072330-
/O.CAN.KPQR.SI.Y.0060.140508T1400Z-140509T0800Z/
/O.NEW.KPQR.GL.A.0012.140508T1400Z-140509T0000Z/
COASTAL WATERS FROM CAPE SHOALWATER WA TO CASCADE HEAD OR OUT
10 NM-COASTAL WATERS FROM CASCADE HEAD TO FLORENCE OR OUT 10 NM-
825 AM PDT WED MAY 7 2014

 ...GALE WATCH IN EFFECT FROM THURSDAY MORNING THROUGH THURSDAY
AFTERNOON...

 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PORTLAND HAS ISSUED A GALE
WATCH...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM THURSDAY MORNING THROUGH THURSDAY
AFTERNOON. THE SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR WINDS HAS BEEN CANCELLED.

 * WINDS: EXPECT SOUTH WINDS TO GRADUALLY INCREASE TONIGHT. WINDS
  SHOULD THEN INCREASE INTO THE 20 TO 30 KT RANGE LATE THURSDAY
  MORNING INTO EARLY THURSDAY AFTERNOON. A COASTAL JET WILL LIKELY
  ALLOW WIND GUSTS OF 35 KT TO SURFACE ACROSS THE WATERS. EXPECT
  GUSTY 20 TO 25 KT WEST WINDS TO SPREAD ACROSS THE WATERS LATE IN
  THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING.

 * SEAS: COMBINED SEAS WILL INCREASE QUICKLY FROM 3 TO 5 FEET EARLY
  THURSDAY MORNING TO STEEP AND WIND DRIVEN AT 7 TO 9 FEET LATE
  THURSDAY MORNING AND AFTERNOON.

 PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

 A GALE WATCH IS ISSUED WHEN THE RISK OF GALE FORCE WINDS OF 34 TO
47 KNOTS HAS SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED...BUT THE SPECIFIC TIMING
AND/OR LOCATION IS STILL UNCERTAIN. IT IS INTENDED TO PROVIDE
ADDITIONAL LEAD TIME FOR MARINERS WHO MAY WISH TO CONSIDER
ALTERING THEIR PLANS.


Sailing Anarchist Gives Props to Blade Runner, Deservedly

There are so many great stories from this year's Oregon Offshore that it's hard to settle on what was actually the best part of the race. Sailing Anarchy is a great, no bull, sailing website for sailors worldwide - particularly racers -  and always tells it like it is.

They just posted a great article about Oregon Offshore, deservedly featuring Ward Naviaux's Santa Cruz 27 & Overall PHRF Corrected time winner in this year's 38th Annual CYC Oregon Offshore race.

Those guys in SoCal have a lot of racing to cover in their own backyard and around the globe, so it's a real honor to get the Sailing Anarchists to dedicate their time to a race this far North; Here's the write-up, courtesy of famed offshore & one-design sailor, Scott Tempesta:

http://sailinganarchy.com/2014/05/13/the-red-2/

Great job again Blade Runner; you deserve all the ink you can get for this victory! Maybe we'll draw some SoCal boats up to the NW for next year's race... And with the new IRC Class established in this year's race, it's a strong possibility.